Wealth
Wealth is a gauge of the character’s social standing in the setting. It defines where he lives, how much of his savings he can bring into play, the personal possessions he can use during missions, and the limits of his personal flair. Distributing Wealth Your character’s starting Wealth score is equal to the amount granted by his base class + his Charisma modifier (if positive). You may distribute this number between 3 Wealth statistics: Lifestyle, Possessions, and Spending Cash. Each of these statistics begins at 1 and may not rise above 10 (though the GC may place additional starting limits on one or more of them to satisfy his setting and game balance needs). Example: Kevin creates a Level 1 Snoop with a Charisma score of 15. This grants the character a Wealth score of 3, which Kevin distributes equally between his 3 Wealth statistics. His Lifestyle starts at 2, his Possessions start at 2, and his Spending Cash starts at 2. Alternately, Kevin might start with Lifestyle 3/Possessions 1/Spending Cash 2, or Lifestyle 2/Possessions 3/Spending Cash 1, etc. You may also redistribute Wealth between missions, though doing so requires you to sacrifice Wealth points at a 2–to–1 ratio. Example: After a few missions, Kevin possesses a total Wealth of 12 — 4 points each in Lifestyle, Possessions, and Spending Cash. Between missions, he decides to liquidate 2 points of Possessions to gain some additional Spending Cash. His new Wealth statistics are Lifestyle 4, Possessions 2, Spending Cash 5. This rule only applies to re-distributing Wealth. All Wealth points distributed for the first time are assigned at a 1–to–1 ratio. Lifestyle Your character’s Lifestyle establishes the size and splendor of his home and vehicle, as well as his basic appearance, which has a palpable effect upon social activities and getting ahead in his organization or network. These effects and possible definitions are summarized on Table 4.1: Lifestyle. Home A character’s home includes not only the physical structure but also all of its permanent contents, such as furniture, appliances, entertainment devices, art, and other decoration. The number of people that may comfortably live in character’s home is listed in parentheses following each set of example descriptions. Per the GC’s discretion, you may describe your character’s home however you wish. Regardless of your description, however, the number of people that may comfortably live in his house does not change. The only way to comfortably house additional people in your character’s home is to increase the character’s Lifestyle. You may voluntarily have your character live in a home listed at a lower Lifestyle, though this offers no additional benefit other than providing enough room to comfortably house the number of people listed with your character’s actual Lifestyle. Example: Using the first Wealth example, Kevin has a starting Lifestyle of 2. This allows him to live in a dormitory, trailer, 1-bedroom apartment, private quarters, or 2-bedroom apartment. His home can comfortably house up to 4 people no matter which of these options he chooses. Kevin wants his character to keep a low profile when not on missions, so he chooses to live in a 1-bedroom apartment. Vehicle(s) A character’s personal vehicle(s) are chosen with standard Vehicle gear picks as shown on Table 4.1. All upgrade rules apply. Unless your character’s missions take place as part of, or intersect with, his personal life, his personal vehicle may not be used in missions. Instead, this vehicle is offered as additional detail about your character’s life away from the field. The GC will determine when, and if, your character’s personal vehicle may come into play. You may voluntarily have your character own a vehicle listed at a lower Lifestyle, though this offers no additional benefit. Example: With Kevin’s Lifestyle of 2, he can choose any vehicle listed under Caliber I on any Vehicle gear table. Since he’s looking for substance over flash, he chooses a light SUV, which can be found in the Caliber I area on Table 4.18: Standard Ground Vehicle Picks (see page 237). This vehicle comes with 1 upgrade, which Kevin uses to gain a set of run-flat tires. Appearance A character’s appearance is not limited to his clothes and accessories (e.g. watches, jewelry, etc.), but also defines all the little things that play into his overall look, such as his complexion, grooming, scent, tattoos, make-up, and the like. As shown on Table 4.1: Lifestyle, a character’s appearance can range from streetworn, which is appropriate for a rough and rumble private eye or thug, all the way up to glamorous and trend-setting, befitting an international celebrity or business magnate. The street value of a character’s clothes and accessories is listed in parentheses in the Example Appearance column. Also, the modifier listed in Table 4.1’s last column is applied to all Cultures, Impress, Networking, and Profession checks the character makes, representing the character’s general flair and how it tends to affect those around him (whether the character is aiming for such a reaction or not). Per the GC’s discretion, you may describe your character’s appearance however you wish. Regardless of the character’s description, however, his Appearance modifier does not change. The only way to adjust your character’s Appearance modifier is to increase the character’s Lifestyle. A character may voluntarily choose to adopt an appearance listed at a lower Lifestyle, though this offers no additional benefit. Example: Kevin’s Lifestyle of 2 gives him a rough street look, which well suits his background. He’d rather not deal with the –1 Appearance modifier, but he’ll lose that with experience. Possessions Your character’s Possessions are the items to which he always has access, during and outside missions. These items are only part of a larger amount of general “stuff” your character owns, but for simplicity and game balance, each character can only have so much of his total gear on him at any time. Also, a character’s Possessions only represent the important or key items he carries — the items that are especially useful or require detailed rules. The remainder of the character’s items — the items that have limited function or aren’t especially complicated — are Common Items and handled separately. Your character’s Possessions, which are also referred to as his personal gear, consist of a number of gear picks as shown on Table 4.2: Possessions. In each case, the number before the slash is the number of gear picks you are permitted and the Roman Numeral after the slash is the Caliber up to which each pick may be chosen. Gear picks chosen as part of a character’s Possessions may come from any gear category. Example: Using the first Wealth example, Kevin has a starting Possessions of 2. This allows him to choose 1 Caliber II gear pick and 3 Caliber I picks. The GC must approve all Possessions before they enter play. He’ll be checking to make sure your character’s Possessions match your character’s background concept and that you’re not using them to gain equipment that should legitimately be mission gear. The GC may also provide any number of additional Possessions of his choice in order to satisfy the needs of his setting or storyline. These items will generally satisfy basic needs of an organization to which your character belongs, or a goal that you’re assigned, and will generally be limited to a select few items, leaving your personal gear choices to round out the complement. Spending Cash A character’s Spending Cash represents the amount of his savings he can bring into play during each mission. It’s assumed that much of a character’s savings are in tied up in various ventures at any time and that he can only shift a limited amount during each mission without upsetting his portfolio. Shifting more is possible, but comes with some stiff penalties. At the start of each mission, your character begins with $100 × his Spending Cash × his Spending Cash (his Spending Cash is factored in twice). Example: Using the first Wealth example, Kevin has a starting Spending Cash of 2. This translates to $400 at the start of each mission ($100 × 2 × 2 = $400). Spending Cash is fluid currency and may be used for any appropriate in-setting expense, from bribes to legal and black-market purchases based on an item’s street value. Common Items At creation, each character gains a number of Common Items equal to his Wisdom score. These Common Items become part of the character’s personal gear. Wealth Changes Gaining Levels Each time your character gains a level, his Wealth increases by the difference between levels. This may result in a Wealth increase of 0. You may distribute any gained Wealth between your character’s Wealth statistics as you wish, though no Wealth statistic may exceed 10. Example: Following the first Wealth distribution example, Kevin gains a second level as a Snoop. His Wealth score increases by 1, which Kevin distributes to his Spending Cash, increasing it from 2 to 3. If your character’s Lifestyle increases, you may redefine his home, vehicle, and appearance, or just note his new Appearance modifier and his home’s maximum occupancy. If your character’s Possessions statistic increases, you must adjust his personal gear accordingly. Wealth losses Wealth may also decrease at any time due to a variety of factors, such as spending Wealth and suffering Charisma damage. Spent Wealth is almost always lost from a specific statistic. In the event that an affected Wealth statistics isn’t specified, and when your character suffers Charisma damage (which in turn lowers his Wealth), you must immediately distribute the Wealth losses between your character’s Wealth statistics. Again, no Wealth statistic may drop below 1. Example: Following the previous example, Kevin’s Charisma drops from 15 to 13 in a prolonged and rather brutal interrogation. He could drop his Spending Cash from 3 back down to 2, or drop either his Lifestyle or Possessions from 2 to 1. If your character’s Lifestyle decreases, you may redefine his home, vehicle, and appearance, and if his Possessions statistic decreases, you must adjust his personal gear. *AW